With just a day to go, Vijay's "Jilla" and Ajith's "Veeram" are gearing up for a massive release on Friday (10 January).
The Tamil film industry is all set to witness the biggest clash (in recent times) at the box office. Apparently, Pongal festival season is the best time for big releases as the audience gets an extended holiday period of over a week. The festival period can easily accommodate two films, but how it will work for two big films is yet to be seen.
So far, the pre-release for both "Jilla" and "Veeram" have been really positive. Both the films are releasing in good number of screens. According to reports, "Jilla" is releasing in over 1,000 screens worldwide and "Veeram" will be showed in more than 900 screens.
Advance booking for both the films have received fantastic response. According to entertainment industry tracker Sreedhar Pillai, "Jilla" and "Veeram" tickets have been sold out for the first weekend in most places. The Vijay and Ajith starrers are likely to take bumper openings in their first weekend.
Both the actors command a huge fan following worldwide. This is not the first time that the duo's films are releasing on the same day. It has happened on a few occasions in the past, and the last time their films clashed was in 2007. In the recent times, big Tamil actors have been avoiding clashes between their films as they might eat into each other's revenues and affect the collections.
After six years, Vijay and Ajith films are set to clash at the box office. "Thala (Ajith)- Thalapathy (Vijay)" fans are eagerly waiting to see the battle between the stars, but the films distributors are wary about the clash. "There can only be one winner here. It will be illogical to expect both movies to become blockbusters though the dices are loaded in favour of both the flicks. The producers are taking a huge risk by releasing the movies the same day," one of the leading distributors in Chennai told Bangalore Mirror.
Vijay and Ajith, who are among the top league of actors, will be expecting their respective films to perform well at the box office. After a string of average films, Vijay bounced back with "Thuppakki", one of 2012's blockbuster flicks. The actor's 2013-film "Thalaivaa" was mired in a controversy and its release was delayed in Tamil Nadu. This affected the film's business and it turned out to be an average grosser.
Vijay will be expecting nothing short of a blockbuster in "Jilla" to retain his position at the top in Tamil film industry. On the other hand, Ajith will also want "Veeram" to do well and continue his successful run at the box office. The actor has been on a roll with films such as "Mankatha" and "Arrambam." If "Veeram" turns out to be a hit, Ajith will once again strengthen his status as the undisputable king of box office.
Undoubtedly, "Jilla" and "Veeram" will be taking extraordinary openings in their first weekend. But, which film emerges on top is what trade experts and fans will be eager to know.
